Frito-Lay to cease operations at two Dallas facilities, lay off 163

Operations will cease at two Frito-Lay Inc. facilities in Dallas beginning in May and the company will lay off 163 people, Frito-Lay’s parent company, PepsiCo, said in a letter sent under requirements of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The company said in the letter that Plano-based Frito-Lay would stop operations at its Dallas Metroplex Warehouse at 3631 W. Davis St. and end its production operations at the Dallas Baked Snack facility at 3548 Duncanville Road.

Frito-Lay said 31 people will be laid off at the Dallas Metroplex Warehouse and 132 will lose their jobs at the Dallas Baked Snack facility.

The closings will be permanent, the company said.

Frito-Lay Inc., said the production facility shutdown would be on or about May 12 and continue through mid-August. Employees will be laid off during that period, the company said in the letter.

Frito-Lay spokeswoman Cynthia Baker said the company was eliminating redundancy and increasing operating efficiencies by closing the Dallas Metro Warehouse and stopping production at the Dallas Baked Snacks facility.

It's a move aimed at ensuring the long-term health of the company.

She said the Baked Snacks facility began production in 1984 and most recently produced Baked! Doritos, Rold Gold Pretzels, Chester's Flamin' Hot Fries, Cheetos Mix-Ups and Cheetos Puffs.

"Production at the Dallas Baked Snacks facility will continue as a warehouse and traffic center," Baker said.

She said the job cuts at the two facility amount 0.3 percent of the company nationwide workforce.

"We recognize the changes are painful for individuals and for our organization and we are committed to handling affected individuals with care and sensitivity," Baker said. "We will be offering transition assistance to all impacted employees."